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2023 Handbook

ECOSOC COMMISSION: Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)

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The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) is one of five regional commissions of the Economic and Social Commission and represents countries in Africa. ECA supports the economic development of its Member States by reinforcing economic relationships among its members and other countries of the world. It does so by promoting developmental cooperative activities and projects of regional and subregional scope, bringing a regional perspective to global problems and translating global concerns at the regional and subregional levels. ECA also has as one of its primary objectives the promotion of the region’s social development.

Members Members

  • Algeria
  • Angola
  • Benin
  • Botswana
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burundi
  • Cabo Verde
  • Cameroon
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Comoros
  • Congo
  • Côte d’Ivoire
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Djibouti
  • Egypt
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Eritrea
  • Eswatini
  • Ethiopia
  • Gabon
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Kenya
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Libya
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Mauritius
  • Morocco
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Rwanda
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Senegal
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • Somalia
  • South Africa
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Togo
  • Tunisia
  • Uganda
  • United Republic of Tanzania
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

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Women’s economic empowerment: boosting women’s entrepreneurship in Africa Women’s economic empowerment: boosting women’s entrepreneurship in Africa

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has been a driving force in addressing the gender disparities that persist across the African continent. With a commitment to promoting sustainable development and inclusive growth, the ECA recognizes the importance of women’s economic empowerment as a catalyst for achieving these goals. For years, women in Africa have faced barriers to accessing resources, education and opportunities, hindering their participation in economic activities and access to decent employment. The sizable informal economy in many African countries has created opportunities for entrepreneurship that are easier to access than in other regions, but many women-owned businesses face sexist and otherwise discriminatory practices that limit their ability to participate in the economy. The ECA’s efforts to boost women’s entrepreneurship seek to dismantle these barriers and unleash the untapped potential of women as key contributors to economic development.

The United Nations has a history of championing gender equality and women’s rights, dating back to the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and the establishment of the United Nations Decade for Women in 1975. This initiative laid the foundation for addressing gender disparities globally. Over time, the United Nations has adopted several resolutions that advance women’s economic empowerment. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted by the General Assembly in 1979, emphasized equal opportunities for women in the field of employment. It calls for measures to ensure women’s right to work and promote their access to employment opportunities, vocational training and career advancement. The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action further called for the advancement of women’s economic empowerment. In Africa, the United Nations’s commitment to women’s empowerment was reinforced through initiatives like the African Women’s Decade (2010-2020), which aimed to address enduring gender inequalities. These actions paved the way for the ECA’s more focused and targeted efforts in boosting women’s entrepreneurship in Africa.

ECA’s work on boosting women’s entrepreneurship aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 5 (Gender Equality) and Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). This work involves collaborating with African governments, regional organizations and various stakeholders to design and implement policies that foster an enabling environment for women entrepreneurs, such as advocating for gender-responsive regulatory frameworks, promoting access to financial resources, and facilitating women’s participation in decision-making processes. The ECA also engages in capacity-building initiatives, providing women with the skills and knowledge needed to establish and manage successful businesses, and leverages digital technologies to empower women entrepreneurs, enabling them to tap into online markets and expand their reach. The last time ECA visited the matter in 2017, they released a report covering the above issues and also mentioning the critical importance of proper infrastructure, particularly electricity. Moreover, the Commission on the Status of Women also examined the issue of women’s economic empowerment in 2017 and issued a report focusing on the protection of particularly vulnerable groups of women and the need for legal systems to combat workplace discrimination against women.

Looking ahead, the United Nations and the ECA are poised to continue and expand their efforts to boost women’s entrepreneurship in Africa. The ECA has outlined a three-part approach to achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in development programs: think tank function, operational assistance and convening activities. The ECA provides research and analysis to assist Member States in identifying, developing and implementing policy and program responses to gender inequalities and barriers to women’s empowerment. The Commission also provides operational assistance to help Member States uphold their gender equality commitments. Finally, the ECA hosts various summits and events to bring together representatives from government, academia, civil society and the private sector to discuss common challenges, explore policy options, foster partnerships, build regional consensus and mobilize action on regional and international agreements. Other organizations have also been active in this area, and a number of innovative solutions have been tried on a pilot scale to boost women’s economic empowerment in Africa, such as trade education programs for women and “husband schools” to enable men to take on more domestic tasks as their partners increase participation in the workforce.

Questions to consider from your country’s perspective:

  • How can access to finance and resources be improved? What strategies can increase women’s access to capital, land, technology and networks which are vital for their entrepreneurial success?
  • What role can education and skills development play? How can the international community enhance women’s access to quality education, vocational training and business development programs?
  • What long-term strategies are needed for sustainable impact? How can the international community integrate women’s economic empowerment into broader development agendas, ensuring continuity and sustainability beyond short-term projects?

Bibliography Bibliography

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United Nations Documents United Nations Documents

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Addressing poverty and vulnerability in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic Addressing poverty and vulnerability in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 478 million people in Africa, approximately 36 percent of the continent’s population, lived in extreme global poverty—defined as those who live on less than $1.90 per day in 2011 purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. When the global pandemic hit in 2020, there were devastating health consequences from COVID-19 itself, but also severe social and economic changes that led to loss of jobs, income, and economic activity. The border shutdowns, decreased travel/tourism, falling demand for African goods, workplace restrictions and other indirect consequences from the virus hit those living just above the global poverty line especially hard, catapulting an estimated additional 55 million Africans into extreme poverty by 2021.

Poverty reduction efforts have been a key focus of the United Nations for many years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. On October 17, 1987, hundreds of thousands gathered at the Trocadéro in Paris, where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, to proclaim that poverty was a violation of human rights. This was the first observance of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which the General Assembly officially designated as 17 October in 1992. In 1995, the World Summit for Social Development convened and decided upon a universal definition of poverty: “a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information” that is dependent on both income and access to social services.

Since then, various multilateral efforts have emphasized the importance of combating poverty, including the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development’s (UNRISD) flagship report Combating Poverty and Inequality (2010), which highlighted three key elements of economic development that aim to fuel poverty reduction: 1) the creation of jobs and income, 2) the advancement of social policies rooted in human rights; and 3) the protection of civic and political rights. A renewed commitment to end poverty in all of its forms everywhere was also highlighted in the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which was established at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. To tailor poverty reduction efforts to the needs of specific countries, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), supported by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have been prepared by individual Member States to describe each country’s situation and make recommendations regarding macroeconomic, structural and social policies. The PRSPs allow for concessional lending through the World Bank and the IMF as well as debt relief under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) Initiative. Although some Member States have experienced success through the PRSPs, a 2015 IMF working paper found that “PRSP implementation has neither reduced poverty headcount nor raised the income share of the poorest quintile in Sub-Saharan Africa.” A 2016 World Bank Report also found concerning results regarding poverty in Africa, stating that while the percentage of those living in extreme poverty has decreased since 1990, the number of poor has increased significantly, due to the rapid population growth across the continent. The report also urged States to consider non-monetary dimensions of poverty, stating that economic growth is critical but not sufficient for poverty reduction.

Despite past efforts affirming the importance of global poverty, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was projected that Africa would fail to meet SDG 1: end poverty in all its forms everywhere. As the devastating consequences of the pandemic arose, it became apparent that Africa was falling further and further behind in meeting this goal. In 2020, the United Nations published a policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 in Africa, in which they suggested that the continent needed a “comprehensive global response package” equivalent to more than $200 billion in order to adequately address rising poverty amongst the African peoples.

The post-pandemic increase in poverty levels prompted the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to release a report in 2021 entitled “Addressing Poverty and Vulnerability in Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The report found that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic varied by country, with some Member States like Egypt, Mauritius and Seychelles experiencing lower poverty and vulnerability and others like Ethiopia and Nigeria being the top contributors to the new poor demographic. Low initial poverty and vulnerability, high capacity to generate new jobs, low youth and old-age dependency ratios, a highly educated labor force, and good internet infrastructure were protective factors during the pandemic, allowing for some Member States to be more resilient to economic shocks. While some Member States were able to achieve these protective factors, others saw vast increases in extreme poverty. This pattern was also highlighted in a 2021 report by the United Nations Development Programme’s Regional Bureau for Africa (UNDP RBA): Analysing Long-term Socio-economic Impacts of COVID-19 Across Diverse African Contexts. In this document, the UNDP RBA described how varying decreases in trade, foreign direct investment, remittances and foreign aid were seen from country to country, ultimately resulting in economic slowdowns at both household and country-wide levels throughout Africa. Countries that were defined as “more resilient” still suffered severe negative impacts from the pandemic, but were better able to prevent short-term harm from being compounded into long-term harm.

Thinking ahead to the future, especially in light of the recent affirmation by the General Assembly that extreme poverty is a violation of human dignity, as well as the 2030 SDG 1—eradicating extreme global poverty—several organizations have made recommendations for new ways to address poverty in Africa. One United Nations report recommends a focus on five other SDGs, namely universal education, gender equality, protection of life on land, protection of life in the water and building partnerships for development, to remove several barriers that have hindered poverty reduction even in countries with substantial economic growth. The salience of protecting life in water is supported by a recent Human Rights Council report connecting aquatic ecosystems to safe drinking water and poverty. With regard to trade, the African Union (AU)’s African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement—one of the flagship projects of the AU’s Agenda 2063:The Africa We Want—was postponed from its original start date in July 2020 to mid-2021 due to the pandemic. By bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight (8) Regional Economic Communities (RECs), AfCFTA was projected to boost income by 450 billion dollars by 2035 and potentially lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty in Africa. While 54 African countries have signed this agreement, as of May 2023, little trade has been reported under AfCTFA as the agreement has yet to be ratified by several countries and others are still drafting legislation to best make use of the lowered barriers to intra-African trade.

Questions to consider from your country’s perspective:

  • How should states prioritize protecting vulnerable and marginalized groups from current and future economic shocks?
  • Is improving human rights and addressing inequality a prerequisite for poverty reduction in Africa?
  • How can Member States with high resilience to economic shocks support those without high resilience in Africa? What other factors should be considered to achieve high resiliency?

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Bibliography Bibliography

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United Nations Documents United Nations Documents

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